THE INEQUALITY OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Peyton Bigora The pandemic forced elementary educators to teach from a distance with most U.S. schools unable to return to normal. And the virtual approach to learning, though necessary, has put the many inequalities of the elementary education system glaringly into focus. “It’s very, very difficult,” Leslie Gilman, an elementary teacher in Rhode Island said on social distance educating. “We’ve had to change all of our protocols, just our normal rituals and routines that we would normally use are now different.” Coming Back & Opening Schools Decisions whether or not to open schools are typically made at the local level, leaving school administrations confused on how to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendations or even execute the federal and state guidelines, many of which often contradict their district’s capabilities. The CDC laid out four goals for combating the spread of the virus in August 2020: • “Promoting behaviors that reduce COVID-19’s spread” • “Maintaining healthy environments” • “Maintaining healthy operations” • “Preparing for when someone gets sick” “Implementation should be guided by what is feasible, practical, acceptable and tailored to the needs of each community,” the CDC wrote on their website. They assert these regulations do not override federal, state or local safety measures established within schools, though. Mrs. Gilman’s district in Middletown has grades K through five back entirely in-person, while grades six through 12 are in school two days a week and online for the other three.
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The CDC provided a ranking of highest to lowest risk situations for administrators to refer to when reopening districts this past fall. The highest risk setting is entirely in person where face masks and social distancing are not required, cleaning is infrequent and students can move freely throughout the school. Lowest risk setting is an entirely online education. Tara Hudson, a kindergarten teacher at Westhampton Beach Elementary on Long Island, NY, has a similar set-up to Mrs. Gilman’s district. “It’s pretty normal, I would say,” Hudson said. “But besides the masks, the lack of movement is tough. And you try to fit it in and go outside more than ever, which is nice, but the last two weeks it’s rained. It’s really tough in that respect.” Both Mrs. Gilman and Mrs. Hudson’s schools would be considered a mix between medium and higher risk by the CDC’s ranking; almost all students are attending class in person, but contact is as limited as possible. Being from relatively small school districts makes the task of social distancing somewhat easier than it has been in larger districts. “Because we’re so small, we’re able to, at the moment, still utilize the cafeteria. But we’re using the cafeteria and the gymnasium as the cafeteria,” Mrs. Gilman explained. “They [the students] can take their masks off to eat, but they may not talk while they’re eating.” “We’ve come up with some creative ways [to minimize contact],” Mrs. Hudson said of her kindergarten classroom. “They each have a few books that they look at and then we
